Tag: Johnny Davis

Wisconsin cruises in the second half, beats Marquette 89-76

The Badgers roll over Marquette in a dominant second half

This time in front of a packed house at the Kohl Center, Wisconsin basketball continued their winning ways. The Badgers (7-1) returned home after a four-game winning streak away from Madison and used a second-half scoring outburst to pull away from Marquette (7-2) in an 89-76 win.

The two teams traded leads throughout the first half, as Marquette’s bench kept them in it. Wisconsin finished the half with a flurry, turning a four-point Golden Eagles lead into a three-point Badgers lead with a 7-0 spurt.

After taking a 34-31 lead into the halftime break, the second half belonged to Wisconsin’s star wing Johnny Davis and senior guard Brad Davison. Davis went 4-5 from the field for 11 second-half points as Davison poured in 14.

As a team, Wisconsin shot a blistering 19-27 (70.4%) from the field over the final 20 minutes of action, and put 55 points on the board. After falling behind 36-34 in the opening moments of the half, the Badgers went on an extended 27-11 run to blow the game open.

The Badgers picked up their fifth-straight win and their first home win of the streak. Davis finished with a game-high 25 points on 9-14 from the field, while Davison contributed 20 to the Badger cause. Wisconsin shot 10-24 (41.7%) from three-point land, while the Golden Eagles went just 9-26 (34.6%) from distance.

The Badgers stay home to begin Big Ten play, as they face Indiana on December 8.

Johnny Davis earns another weekly award after his performance in Las Vegas

The Badger guard earns another award

After scoring 71 points in three games during a sensational week in Las Vegas, Johnny Davis was named college basketball reporter Andy Katz’s Player of the Week.

Davis averaged 23.7 points per game over a three-game stretch at the 2021 Maui Invitational (in Las Vegas) where the Badgers came away with three wins in three days.

Katz gave Duke his Team of the Week award after the Blue Devils knocked off previously No. 1 Gonzaga in Las Vegas. Duke came in as the No. 1 overall team in today’s latest AP Top 25 poll, while Wisconsin ended up in the poll for the first time all season. The Badgers entered in at No. 23.

Wisconsin basketball looking to ‘stripe out’ the Kohl Center on Saturday

Wisconsin basketball will look to “stripe out” the Kohl Center on Saturday

With new alternate jerseys on the way, Wisconsin basketball is looking for a Kohl Center “stripe out” on Saturday.

The Badgers unleashed their player-designed alternate uniforms on Monday, and they were met with serious fan approval on Twitter. Wisconsin will debut the uniforms on Saturday when the Badgers take on Marquette in a rivalry matchup.

In honor of the premier of Wisconsin’s clean new alternates, the Badgers want fans to wear red or white depending on their section. Here is a look at the seating chart posted on Twitter that will let fans know what color they should wear based on their section.

 

Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis named Big Ten Player of the Week

Johnny Davis earns a Big Ten honor

A phenomenal week for Wisconsin basketball ended with individual honors for Badger star Johnny Davis.

With Wisconsin going 3-0 in Las Vegas to take home the 2021 Maui Invitational hardware, Davis was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday.

The sophomore averaged 23.7 points over the three games in Las Vegas, and led the Badgers to an upset win over Houston with a career-high 30 points.

Wisconsin also ended up in the AP Top 25 poll for the first time all season, clocking in at No. 23 this week. Davis and the Badgers are back in action on Wednesday when they visit Georgia Tech.

 

Wisconsin wins the 2021 Maui Invitational, outlasts Saint Mary’s 61-55

The Badgers are champions of the 2021 Maui Invitational

After trailing seemingly all afternoon long in Las Vegas, the Wisconsin Badgers found a way to finish strong and take home the 2021 Maui Invitational hardware.

Their 61-55 win over Saint Mary’s was Wisconsin’s third win in as many days, as the Badgers outscored the Gaels 36-24 in the second half to come away with the trophy. After Johnny Davis’ 30-point effort against Houston propelled Wisconsin into the championship game, it was the duo of Davis and Tyler Wahl who combined for 38 points in the final.

Saint Mary’s opened up a 31-25 halftime lead and started the second half by maintaining a slight advantage. The Badgers responded by putting together a late 7-0 run to take a 50-46 lead with 4:21 left in the contest.

Wisconsin found themselves up by a pair with just under a minute remaining when a late shot clock turnaround jumper from Wahl sealed a Badger victory.

En route to their Maui Invitational championship, Wisconsin defeated Texas A&M, Houston, and finally the Gaels. All three teams were previously undefeated before the Badgers handed them a loss.

Davis scored 71 combined points in Wisconsin’s three wins, leading the way for the Badgers offensively. The Badger wing was named the 2021 Maui Invitational’s Most Outstanding Player.

Wisconsin will have a week off before heading on the road to Georgia Tech in the Big Ten/ACC challenge.

WATCH: Johnny Davis talks Wisconsin’s win over Houston

The Badgers star talks with Andy Katz after the win

After a career-high 30 points in Wisconsin’s 65-63 win over Houston, Johnny Davis spoke with the Big Ten Network’s Andy Katz about the win, the Badger team, and his experience playing in Latvia over the summer.

Davis went 10-18 from the field, connecting on 4 threes and going a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line in the win over Houston. The sophomore star also finished with a game-high 4 steals and came up with numerous deflections early to help give Wisconsin a first-half advantage.

The Badgers will match up with WCC foe Saint Mary’s in the Maui Invitational championship game on Wednesday. Here is a look at Davis’ interview with Katz courtesy of Wisconsin on BTN’s Twitter page:

WATCH: Highlights from Johnny Davis’ career day in the win over Texas A&M

The Badger wing has a career day in Vegas

Given Wisconsin’s turn towards youth, there should be many career nights in year two for Badger wing Johnny Davis. The first came on Monday afternoon, when the La Crosse native helped lead Wisconsin back from down 16 points in their Maui Invitational win over Texas A&M.

Davis went 8-18 from the field, finishing with a career-high 21 points in Wisconsin’s 69-58 win over the Aggies. Davis also added a career-best 9 rebounds to his tally.

The scoring came in a variety of ways, as he found success in the midrange, came up with second chance points, and sunk a three during Wisconsin’s late first-half run that got them back in the game.

Here is a look at his highlights from Day 1 in Vegas, courtesy of Wisconsin basketball on Twitter:

One stat that sums up the changes for Wisconsin basketball this season

The Badgers will look a lot different in 2021-22

Heading into the 2020-21 season, the chatter surrounding Wisconsin basketball all dealt with continuity. The Badgers returned more than 80% of their scoring from a team that had just pulled off a miraculous late winter run to a Big Ten regular season title.

This season, Badger fans will be watching a nearly all-new cast of characters wearing the red and white. Aside from returning graduate senior Brad Davison, the Badgers feature a number of young players, new faces, and transfers looking to make an impact.

If you watched a Wisconsin basketball broadcast last season, you may have heard everybody’s favorite note discussed a time or two. No, it’s not that Davison was a quarterback in high school and it doesn’t have to do with Barry Alvarez’s relatives. Instead, it was the fun fact that Wisconsin’s 2020-21 starting lineup had an older average age than the 2020-21 Chicago Bulls.

For much of the year, the Badgers started five seniors and had the oldest starting lineup in college basketball. While the starting lineup for this season isn’t even a sure thing quite yet, the Badgers are getting younger.

How much younger? Last season, Wisconsin basketball’s average age was 22.6 years old. This year? The Badgers will field a team with an average age of just 19.5 years.

The journey starts tonight, as Wisconsin takes on UW-Whitewater in an exhibition to begin their 2021-22 campaign.

30 of the best college prospects who won’t be declaring for 2021 NBA draft

A look at the big names you won’t see in this year’s draft.

As we approach the early entry deadline for the 2021 NBA draft, we have a sense of which players are set to return for another year of college basketball.

While scouts are more focused on the draft on July 29, evaluators around the league already have tabs on the best prospects that will continue their time in the NCAA next season.

Note that this list does not include notable names who have declared for the 2020 NBA draft but are just “testing the waters” like Isaiah Jackson, Miles McBride, Marcus Bagley, JT Thor, Matthew Mayer and Jason Preston.

Instead, the following players have either announced that they are returning or are expected to return to their team for the upcoming 2021-22 campaign:

Wisconsin guard Jonathan Davis earns a tryout with Team USA U-19

Jonathan Davis earns a tryout with Team USA

[mm-video type=video id=01f51xwrpnsb9zb5hasc playlist_id=01eqbyzzyj3n3jt6m7 player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f51xwrpnsb9zb5hasc/01f51xwrpnsb9zb5hasc-973bb225bb67f90c0ad15c2e28d0f592.jpg]

After a solid freshman campaign at Wisconsin, Badger guard Jonathan Davis has earned a tryout with the Team USA U-19 team as they prepare to play in Latvia this summer.

Jim Polzin of the Wisconsin State Journal was first to report the news:

The former three-star prospect quickly earned the trust of head coach Greg Gard and staff, playing starters minutes while coming off of the bench in his freshman season. Davis averaged 7 points and over four rebounds per game while also being in Wisconsin’s closing lineup. Tryouts are scheduled for June 20-22 at TCU as the team gets ready for summer competition.